Breaking the News
by Pms-tories
Summary: M'gann has some news to share with her younger brother that just might upset Gar.


A white martian cloaked in a shroud of virid stood outside the door to her adopted younger brother. She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, wondering if bringing the bag of Twizzlers was too much. She read somewhere back on Mars that a peace offering of some sort helped cushion the blow sudden developments caused. She sincerely hoped it was always true and not some one–out–of–three–times thing magazines fed.

M'gann could see the parallels of this visit from her last not so long ago. She brought a treat for him then too; Laffy Taffy that he chewed on quite aggressively. She even stood outside his door over thinking everything. Except last time she was informing him of the end of an relationship, not the start of one.

Without any further thoughts she opened the door, standing up straight to fasely assert herself. Inside Gar didn't look up from his phone, the boops and beeps distracting him until he managed to pause it. He gave her his toothy smile until he saw the candy in her hands. Then he switched off his phone and lost his grin.

"Are we having another talk?" He sat up on his bed, making room for M'gann to sit down.

M'gann let the door slide shut behind her, offering a weak smile to his question. She sat down next to him and handed him the bag of Twizzlers. He took it without question; offering her one when he tore the bag open. She shook her head, still trying to find her absent voice. She did a quick scan of her form – yup, her voice box was still there.

"You know how," she started, avoiding Gar's face in favor of the comforter she was sitting on. "Superboy and I broke up?"

"Yeah...are you guys-"

"No."

"Oh." She could cringe at the disappointed tone he adopted. His attachment to Conner only made telling him even harder. She had to do it quick, like ripping off a band-aid. If she beat around the bush for too long she would lose her nerve. Maybe Twizzlers would prevent him from making a scene.

"La'gaan and I are going on a date."

There. She said it out loud. She couldn't take back her words of she wanted to. They floated around the two of them, slowly taking over the space around them like a sudden fog. The _snap_ as Gar bit into one of the Twizzlers joined her words, but nothing else did. M'gann waited for him to respond, smoothing out the comforter in front of her. She didn't have to wait long.

"Excuse me?!" The bed bounced widely and M'gann reflexively looked up. Gar was standing on the bed, Twizzlers long forgotten at his feet as his tail swished furiously behind him. He looked down at her with wide eyes that almost begged for her to tell him he heard wrong.

M'gann let out a soft sigh, reaching for one of his hands. "Gar, please calm down."

He yanked his hand away from her, clenching his fists. "You want me to calm down when you and Conner just broke up and you're already dating that–that garbage smelling, bugged eyed, _thing_ from the black lagoon!" He sneered, pointed teeth bared as he spat out each syllable.

"Garfield Logan! That is not how you speak about a teammate!" She sternly scolded, "You treat everyone with the respect they deserve!"

At her voice he looked down at his feet, realization of what he said coming to him. "I'm sorry. I won't call him or anyone names again."

"Good. Now please sit down."

Gar let himself plop onto the bed, reaching under him to move the bag of Twizzlers. He was not happy about the news he just received , not one bit. What was going on with M'gann? Was La'gaan supposed to be one of those rebound guys? Was this the start of a long line of boyfriends that weren't Conner?

"I know you don't like this," he scoffed and crossed his arms at this, "But you barely even know La'gaan."

"Like you do." He remarked, slightly taunting.

"Yes I do," she snapped back. Taking a deep breath she tried to make herself sound as appealing as she could. "He's sweet and caring and supportive and..."

"Not Conner," Gar added bitterly.

"No he isn't, but he makes me feel something I haven't felt with Conner in a long time." She placed a hand on Gar's cheek, relieved when he didn't protest. His eyes lifted to meet hers and she couldn't help but hug him. He accepted the hug more reluctantly; keeping his arms crossed at his chest. She settled the side of her face on top of his head, thumb lightly stroking his bare cheek.

"I'm not asking you for permission, I'm going to do this no matter what you say. But it'll be so much easier if you're okay with this." She said softly. "I'm not trying to separate you from Superboy–I don't want to. All I want is to be happy and La'gaan...La'gaan does that."

He whimpered, "But Megs..."

"Gar, please."

He didn't want this to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to be him, M'gann, and Conner, just like when he first met them. He didn't want his family to change. It already changed enough. He didn't understand why things couldn't go back to the way they were. If they just _talked_ maybe they would see it was just a lover's quarrel.

But they refused to. The bond they had was severed in one night. M'gann couldn't even say the name she gave him anymore. And Conner hasn't said a word directly to her since the break up. The little family that he found was no longer there.

It frustrated him to no end. Did they just forget everything they had? Were their memories wiped clean of all the laughs they shared? Of all the new experiences, discoveries, and mishaps? Could the love they had be tossed out like left overs from last week? Were they really going to tear down everything they built together just because Conner didn't agree with M'gann? Couldn't they see how much they were hurting him? Each other?

And now this new guys comes sweeping in and M'gann expects him to be okay with it just because he makes her feel something she didn't with Conner. Was her old relationship so bad that it could be replaced by something new so quick? Sure he heard them fight when they thought he was in his room and he knew how with time they became more frequent and loud. He even saw the personality shifts with M'gann becoming more irritable and Conner spending more time at the Kent farm. He wasn't as old as them, but he wasn't dumb.

"Gar?"

Maybe M'gann did need this. She was one of the smartest and strongest people he knew–and that included everyone in the Justice League. She was a good judge of character and could take care of herself. And she deserved to be happy. Even of being happy meant being with someone other than the guy he thought she was perfect for. He was her family, and family meant acceptance.

"Okay," he said at last, "I respect your decision to date La'gaan."

She gave him a tight squeeze and kissed the top of his head. She placed both palms of the side of his head, pulling back to look him in the eyes. "You don't know how much this means to me."

Gar wrapped his arms around her torso, burying his face into her shoulder. She hugged him back, releasing a sigh as she did so. Gar let out one of his own and hoped La'gaan wouldn't become his brother–in–law. If La'gaan did he would need more than one pack of Twizzlers.


End file.
